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The late night breeze of Japan was chilly, blowing at Junhyuk’s bangs and causing them to float around his face as he walked down the road. He had just sneakily crept through the hotel hallways, past rooms where his members were sound asleep. After not being able to sleep for a few hours, he eventually got frustrated and decided to go for a late night walk. He stopped by a convenience store with flickering, fluorescent lights and a broken radio that blasted songs from the late 90s. The cashier looked fatigued — dark circles under her eyes and her hair in a messy bun. He immediately marched towards the drinks section in the freezer and grabbed a can of grape soda. “It’s a habit," he muttered under his breath although nobody had asked. He paid for it and quickly exited the store, out into the cold streets of Japan again.
After some pondering, he walked to a park, sliding into a bench with a beautiful view of the city. He pried the soda can open, the foam rising up to the brim of the can and slipping out in streams. He quickly took a sip before the foam could fall onto his fingers and clothes. The fizz instantly refreshed his dry throat, the artificial grape flavour lingering on his tongue.
He watched as moonlight glimmered onto the small lake. Suddenly, a familiar, low voice drifted from behind him, snapping him out of a reverie.
“What are you doing out here?”
He turned around to find Seonghyeon standing behind him with his hands shoved deep inside the pockets of his baggy hoodie, his hair messy and floating with the breeze. “Just wanted some air, hyung," he watched as Seonghyeon slipped onto the bench beside him, yawning, and Junhyuk couldn't help but grin to himself at how much his hyung seemed like a sleepy kitten.
“Can’t sleep?” Seonghyeon asked, running a hand through his hair. Junhyuk nodded. “Can’t sleep either?”
Seonghyeon slightly chuckled. “Yeah.” For a while, silence took over the conversation, the only sounds being the faint chirps of cicadas and the breeze softly blowing between them. The quiet stretched, carrying awkwardness and subtle anticipation. Junhyuk took another sip of his soda, which had gone warm now, to busy his mouth.
“Yonghoon-hyung and Wonbin-hyung have been acting weird lately,” Seonghyeon stated, finally breaking the unusual tension that had occured between the two of them (awkward tension between them never happended, so this was pretty weird, considering they were basically glued together by the hip). Junhyuk laughed — it was more of a short breath through his mouth.
“I agree. They’ve been quiet together since last evening. Maybe they confessed, or something.” The two of them giggled, their voices blending together and overcoming the awkward silence between them a while ago. Seonghyeon turned to him, clearly restraining himself from cackling. "Or maybe they kissed," he shrugged.
Junhyuk chuckled along, then the quiet fell over them once again as the giggles faded. They both looked up at the stars that were twinkling in the night sky like tiny specks of salt over a large, black cloth. Junhyuk turned to the older boy — Seonghyeon’s fringe fell over his eyes, casting distant shadows over his under-eye bags; his hair was flowing along with the light breeze and Junhyuk wanted to push the annoying strands of hair away. He reached his hands and gently swept his bangs away from Seonghyeon’s eyes. Seonghyeon turned around, surprised. “It was annoying me," Junhyuk muttered, his cheeks red and blazing against to cold air of Japan. He mentally scolded himself, asking why he did that without him even realizing it. Once again, an awkward silence fell over them (Junhyuk felt as if it was way more awkward now that he had done...whatever that was). Junhyuk felt slightly frustrated at how much he wanted to say something but didn’t have any topic in mind to say to his hyung.
He pondered desperately for a while, until he reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone and aimed it towards Seonghyeon.
Click! When the shutter clicked, it took a whole second for Seonghyeon to even realize it. “Oh, delete that, Junhyuk-ah!” Junhyuk extended his arm to a length where the older boy couldn’t reach. A mischievous grin was plastered onto his face.
Then, Seonghyeon grabbed his wrist with surprising strength and pinned him onto the bench, reaching for Junhyuk’s phone that was dangling from his hand and making Junhyuk’s soda can fall onto the soft grass with a faint thud. Suddenly, Junhyuk was hyper-aware of the position they had gotten themselves into — Seonghyeon was on top of him and his face was only a few inches away. “Baek Junhyuk. If you don’t give me your phone, I’ll—” Seonghyeon suddenly paused, staring into Junhyuk’s eyes with an unreadable gaze.
Junhyuk fixed his gaze onto Seonghyeon, their faint, warm breaths tangling in the small space between their faces. Junhyuk’s eyes lowered to Seonghyeon’s lips, but he flicked them back up, like he was restraining himself from his desires. But when he spotted Seonghyeon doing the same, he scoffed to himself. So he wants it too, huh? He gently placed his palm onto Seonghyeon's nape, pulling them closer to a distant that shouldn't be considered platonic at all. Junhyuk was sick and tired of the 'best friends' title between him and Seonghyeon that people agreed to without hesitation nor a second glance. He wanted more. He wanted something romantic — one where he wouldn't have to clench his fists until his knuckles turned white just to restrain himself from breaking the friendship.
Junhyuk slowly closed his eyes, then their lips met. Seonghyeon's lips were warm and soft against his, tasting faintly of energy drinks. The kiss didn’t last long before they pulled away with scorching red cheeks and ears, panting against each other's faces. “I…,” Junhyuk started. “I like you, hyung.” He removed his eyes from the boy, his voice shaky with each word, too embarrassed to even make eye contact with the older boy. Seonghyeon chuckled with a tender grin spread across his face, pushing his cheeks up.
“I…like you too, Junhyuk-ah," he whispered. “I always have.”
Junhyuk immediately grinned cheerfully, eyes flickering with relief as he locked eyes with Seonghyeon. “Really?”
Seonghyeon shyly nodded, rubbing his nape that Junhyuk had just held tight earlier. Junhyuk let out a sigh with a mix of relief and joy, smiling hard like an idiot to the point his cheeks ached.
“Hyung-deul?”
They immediately looked at the direction the voice came from — a familiar figure was standing there with shocked, widened eyes, mouth gaping.
“Semin?”